Panko Crusted Pea Fritters with Tamarind Jelly

by Sala @ Veggie Belly on July 17, 2009

Pea and potato fritters (aloo mutter tikki) are a popular snack or appetizer in India. This is an updated version of the traditional tikki. I coat the fritters in panko bread crumbs before shallow frying them to create a crispy, golden, delicate crust. Tikkis are usually served with a sweet, tart tamarind sauce. I serve the fritters with tamarind jelly instead. I added a little fruit pectin to the tamarind to achieve a nice jelly like texture. The pectin is totally optional and the end result will taste equally delicious with or without the pectin.

The main ingredient here are green peas and potatoes. I used 1 cup of peas and 1/2 cup of boiled potatoes because I wanted the peas to be the star of this dish. Add more potatoes and less peas if you like.

Then form the potato-pea mixture into discs. Dip the discs in flour and water. Then roll in panko. Shallow fry till crisp and golden on the outside.

The end result is a gorgeous, golden fritter waiting to be doused in sweet, tart, cumin scented tamarind jelly..

For the tamarind jelly, I used seedless tamarind pulp that comes in a block. You can find this at the Asian store. You must boil the tamarind pulp first to extract the juice. Strain the tamarind water, and add sugar, cumin and fruit pectin to it. Boil the jelly for about 10 minutes. It will thicken up nicely and when cool, become jelly-like. The fruit pectin is totally optional. The pectin only adds to the texture and not to the flavor of this jelly.

3 tbsp flour
¾ cup water
salt
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup vegetable oil for shallow frying
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet and add the peas (no need to defrost) and boiled potato cubes. Then add the cumin and chili powders and salt. Saute this mixture on medium heat for about 5 minutes or till the peas have defrosted and the cumin is fragrant. Turn off heat, and add mint. Using a potato masher, lightly mash the mixture and set aside.
When the peas mixture is cool enough to handle, divide it into 6 parts. Using your palms roll each into a ball and then flatten it into a disc.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, water and salt together. Place the panko bread crumbs in a shallow plate. Heat the oil for frying.

Dip the pea and potato discs first into the flour and water mixture and then place in the plate with panko. Gently coat the discs with panko on all sides.
Shallow fry the discs a few at a time in hot oil. Serve with tamarind jelly.

Tamarind JellyMakes about ¼ cup

1 ½ cups water
1 tbsp seedless tamarind pulp
5 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp cumin
A pinch of salt
1 tsp fruit pectin, optional
Place the water and tamarind in a pan and boil for 2 minutes. Using a fork mash the tamarind in the water. Then strain the mixture, pushing the tamarind pulp through a strainer.
Place the strained tamarind water back in the pan and bring to a boil. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes or till the mixture has thickened and reduced to less than half. The sauce will thicken further and ‘jell’ as it cools.

sorry to disagree, but this seems so “off” from the orignal, earthy yet light super tasty tikkis & imli chutney one is used to…. tamarind, jaggery, dates, a pinch of red chilly, rock salt, dry ginger pd & cumin…. yum… your sauce seems to need some help! ditto the light as air tikkis one eats on the roads!

Sala: I tried to make these. In addition to making one whale of a mess, spattered oil all over the place, my fritters kept falling apart. I tried to eliminate the water, but same results. I raised the temperature of the oil and while they now stuck together, they burned. Granted I am not an experienced cook, but where did I miss the boat? Any thoughts or helpful hints. What I did produce tasted good – but were pretty ugly and admittedly charred. Feel free to email me if you wish. Thanks you in advance, Tom

Oh no! I sounds like there was either water in your pan, or the pea potato mixture had too much moistrue. You could wrap the potatoes in paper towel and microwave them, to avoid excess moisture from boiling in water. If you are not too experienced in the kitchen, it may be easier to pan fry the fritters, rather than shallow or deep fry. Using less oil, and frying up a few at a time, will give you more control.